Lost at Sea
by Thedragon456123
Summary: When on a mission from his dad, Nico finds himself stuck on the Flying Dutchman, where everyone there seems to be bent on breaking him. But after a couple days, the crew of the Black Pearl rescue him, and have to put up with him while he heals and waits for his friends to find him. Rated T for mentions of rape and graphic violence. Solangelo
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a sneak peek at the fic. I'm just putting this out there to see how it does and if it's successful I'll start posting more.**

 **These fandoms don't belong to me.**

Jack walked down the hall, a half empty bottle of rum held loosely in his hand. He made sure to stop and glance into the boy's room, just to make sure he wasn't dead or something. The boy was clearly sleeping, which he had been doing for most of the time since he was taken onto the ship by Elizabeth's soft heart. Jack turned around to leave, but stopped short when he heard a soft whimper from the bed.

Another nightmare. Sometimes Jack was kept awake by the boy screaming in his sleep, and it had always been Elizabeth's job to take care of him, but neither she nor Will had been seen at all that night. There had been a lot of talk about a baby, so maybe they were in their cabin, trying to make their dream a reality. Rocking his boat again.

Jack sighed, and after making sure no crew members would see him, closed the door and moved to sit at the boy's side. He poked the boy in the cheek, hoping to wake him before the nightmare got any worse. The boy flinched wildly, crying out and not waking up.

He started screaming; begging for his unseen attacker to just stop hurting him. Jack jumped back in surprise. "No no no no no. Don't- do that," he said, shushing and petting the boy on the head. He sobbed loudly. "Uh... There there, child. Um...I'm not going to rape you..." The boy cried harder and Jack face-palmed. "Sorry..."

He sat down on the bed, took a swig of rum, and pulled the boy into his arms, effectively waking him up, but not succeeding in making him stop crying. The boy clung to him, still sobbing. Giving up on the whole talking thing, Jack proceeded to run a hand through his hair.

After many long minutes, the boy began to calm down until he was only shaking in Jack's arms. "You alright, mate?" The boy nodded. Settling comfortably into Jack's arms, he laid his head on his chest, using him as a pillow. The raven haired boy fell asleep that way, and Jack tried to get up to leave, but his grip was tight and Jack wouldn't be able to move without waking him. Sighing, he settled back into the bed and soon fell asleep.

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Elizabeth and Will lay next to each other on the bed, slowly starting to fall asleep. She had almost succeeded in it too, but then she remembered something very important. "Will!" she whispered sharply, climbing out of bed.

"What is it, Elisabeth?" Will sat up groggily.

"I forgot to check on him." She wrapped a robe around her body.

"He'll be fine. Come back to bed."

"No! He has nightmares every night. I have to be there for him." Will followed her out the door.

When they made it to the boy's room, Will thought something bad had happened. Elizabeth stopped at the door, gasping, and putting one hand over her mouth. Will came towards her, hoping to see what the problem was, but then she let out a quiet chuckle, and entered the room, Will following close behind. What he saw made him laugh out loud, which was quickly shushed by Elizabeth.

Jack was asleep on the bed, his arms curled protectively around the boy, who was using Jack's chest as a pillow. There were fresh tears on his face, and Jack's shirt was wet. A bottle of rum sat forgotten on the side table. A small noise came from the child and Elizabeth began to move towards him, but stopped when she saw Jack pulling the boy closer and gently planting a kiss on his forehead, quelling his cry. She smiled and tiptoed out of the room, carefully closing the door behind her.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Hello my dear friends! This is Crazy, the Dragon's weird sister, and I will be writing these author's notes! AND THE CROWD GOES WILD! This fic is Dragon's baby, but I will edit for her. Now down to business. First of all, for those of you who read the preview, this first chapter, and probably several chapters after that takes place before the little sneak peek. Um, what else…trigger warnings! Please do not ignore these, bad things happen if you do. Take it from me; I'm called crazy for a reason. So there will be violence and non con in this fic, neither of which are graphic, but still. There may be other stuff in other chapters, and I will tell you them, and please, if these things trigger you in any way, just stop reading. It isn't worth it. And now, disclaimer. Neither me, nor Dragon own POTC or PJO, and we do not make any money doing this, so I see no problem. Blessed be!**

Chapter 1

Nico had fought ever since they first laid their slimy hands on him. He had thrashed and struggled against his bonds for who knows how long, not even the fierce punches and kicks stopping him. It was the whip that did it. He had seen the four-armed man coming; seen the whip in his hand, but he thought the guy would at least threaten him with it first. Instead, he brought it down as soon as he was in range, the metal tip biting into the back of his shoulder, making him scream in agony. And it didn't stop there. The whip continued to bite into his back until his shirt was in shreds and there was blood everywhere and his throat burned from screaming and he just wanted it to stop stop stop stop stop!

When Nico knew he couldn't take any more of this and he was about to black out, it stopped. The two guys that had been holding him dropped him, where he lay gasping and spitting out blood on the wet wooden deck of the ship. He looked up at two boots right in front of his face. Gasping sharply, he started to roll over to see who it was and what he was doing, but a heavy foot landed on his back to hold him down and he screamed as salt ground into his wounds.

Then a hand gripped Nico's shirt collar and yanked him into the air and held him there as he scrambled to position his feet to take some pressure off of his throat. "What's your name, boy?" he growled.

"N-Nico," he stuttered as every ounce of bravery he had planned to use melted away.

Without warning, the man slapped him hard, and Nico sprawled across the coarse wooden deck. "Wrong!" he shouted, "Your name is whatever I be callin' you."

"S-Sorry."

A kick to the head that rattled his teeth.

"You will not talk without permission! Me name is Captain Davy Jones. You will call me master. Yer on the Flyin Dutchman. This is my crew. You belong to me now." Then he leaned down close to Nico's ear and hissed, "Right now, your name is Whore." He stood up fast, turning to the crew. "He's all yours, mates."

The word sent a jolt of panic through him. He felt as though he was being strapped into a roller coaster he did _not_ want to go on. Hands grabbed and groped him, shoving him every which way and some small part of his brain thought _I'm so sorry Will._ But he could swear he heard the whisper of Will's voice saying, "Hold on, Angel. We're coming. Just hold on."

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"It's okay, Will. I can handle myself. I'll be back before you know it," Nico said, kissing his boyfriend firmly, hoping to shut him up. But Will was persistent. He tried to break away, but ended up having to speak between Nico's constant kisses.

"I *kiss* know... I just *kiss* worry about you *kiss* that's all."

They made out for a while before Nico spoke. "If I'm not back in three days, you're allowed to panic, unless I Iris message you to tell you it's okay. Got it?" At this point, Nico had moved down to Will's neck, so answering was a bit easier.

"I love you," he whispered.

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"Don't tire yourself out too much, and make sure to eat well. I packed you some bandages and disinfectants and plenty of nectar and ambrosia so make sure to use them if you need them." Nico turned around to Will, and planted a short kiss on his mouth.

"I promise. I love you. I'll be back soon." With that, Nico disappeared into the shadows.

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It was the fourth day since he had left, and Nico still hadn't come home. Will was panicking. He was currently pacing back and forth in the big house while Chiron and the members of the Seven discussed ways of locating Nico. "We should try Iris messaging him first. Maybe he's on his way back," Hazel said.

The other demigods nodded, having not thought of that. They moved into another room with a fountain for Iris messages, and Will tossed a coin into the rainbow and said, "Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow. Show me Nico Di Angelo."

For a moment, nothing happened; then a female voice spoke. "I'm sorry. I cannot reach Nico di Angelo at the moment because there is a barrier holding off all magic forms of communication. Would you like to see the closest image?"

"Yes," Will said quickly, a feeling of apprehension seeping into him. An image of a ship that was in such bad shape it shouldn't even float manifested in the mist. On the deck, a mass of people was gathered around something Will couldn't see.

Percy stared at the ship for a moment, and then declared, "That's in the Caribbean."

"Do you know where in the Caribbean?"

Percy waited for a moment, and then shook his head. "Sorry."

Then the voice of Iris spoke. "For five more drachmas, I can give you an audio connection."

Will pulled two out of his pocket, and then looked up helplessly at the other demigods. Hazel pulled three more out of her pocket and handed it to Will, who tossed it into rainbow. Imminently, they could hear the splashing of waves and the creaking of a boat rocking. But over that they heard laughter. And screaming. Screaming that Will recognized. The hand of ragefearpainworry clutched his throat, cutting off his breath. His vision tunneled around the iris message. The crowd. Oh Gods…what were they doing to him?!

An uncountable amount of time passed before the screams stopped suddenly. They could hear slow footsteps, followed by a cry of pain and then a gasp. Then a rumbling voice spoke. "What's yer name, boy?"

The answer was soft and shaking. "N-Nico." Tears ran down Will's face. Nico's voice should never sound like that.

There was a sharp slapping sound and another gasp form Nico accompanied by a sickening thump. "Wrong!" His evil voice said. "Yer name is whatever I be calln' you."

"S-Sorry." Another thump and a blood curdling scream that made Will queasy. He sat down.

"You will not talk without permission! Me name is Captain Davy Jones. You will call me master. Yer on the Flyin Dutchman. This is my crew. You belong to me now." The voice changed to a hiss. "Right now, yer name is whore."

Hazel was sobbing at this point. Will stared in horror at the image of the ship, letting silent tears fall down his face. _No no no no no not his Sunshine…_ Hoping that there was even a small possibility Nico could hear him; Will whispered a small, choked message to him. "Hold on, Angel. We're coming . Just hold on."

Horrible sounds started as soon as the Captain's footsteps faded away, making Hazel sob harder until Annabeth swiped her hand through the image, leaving the eight in stunned silence. Leo was the first to come out of it. "I'm gonna go get the Agro II fired up. You guys get ready to go."

"Wait," Jason said, "What if this is a trap? We can't just go!"

Will and Hazel stared at him in shock.

"I'm just being cautious."

"I can't believe you!" Will shouted. "Nico's being tortured and… and you're being cautious? Maybe it is a trap, but if it is, then I guess I'm caught, because I'm going to find him with or without you." Then Will stood up, and stormed his way to the infirmary to start packing. Hazel looked at Jason, slowly shaking her head before following Will out the door with Frank behind her. Jason looked helplessly at the others.

"Dude," Percy said, "I get the whole being cautious thing, but Nico's our bro. We can't just leave him to die like this. We're going to find him, and you don't have to help if you don't want to." He stood.

Annabeth stood as well. "For once," she said, "my boyfriend's right." The two of them left the room, followed by Leo.

Jason sighed, and stood up to go pack.

 **Alright, love you all, if you feel like it leave a little note telling us how the fic was. If you are a member there's a handy little thing you can do to get notices from this website when we update. It's called following, and I find it really convenient. Again, I love you so much, and I wish you luck on your hard journey forward. It gets easier.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright this cover image and the rights to the fandoms don't belong to me.**

Nico was tossed lifelessly onto the cold wood floor of a cell, where he curled up in the corner, sobbing into his scraped hands. Pain ricocheted through his entire body, every frantic heartbeat igniting a fresh wave of agony in his back and everywhere else. His mind was racing, every thought returning to _I'm so sorry, Will._ Nico had been saving himself for Will, so that when the right time came, it could be memorable for him as his first time, but now he was wasted. Nico had nothing to give him now. Would Will still love after he found out he wasn't a virgin anymore?

He turned to lie on his stomach, hoping to relive some of the pain on his back. His eyelids slowly sunk down, until he was standing in the dreamscape. He looked down at his body. The cuts and dark bruises were still there, but he couldn't feel the pain. Nico scanned with his mind, hoping Will was asleep so he could tell him he was in trouble. But, as always, he fell into the Hypnos cabin, where Clovis was sitting in a rocking chair, watching a warm fire burn in the fireplace as he sipped hot chocolate. When Nico appeared in front of Clovis, the boy looked up quickly, taking in his injuries.

"Gods, Nico! What happened?" Clovis asked, putting down his drink.

"I-I got in a bit of trouble…I was looking for Will? Do you..?" Nico was desperately trying not to cry, he just _needed_ Will.

"Actually, Will and the Seven just left on the Argo II for the Caribbean. They're looking for you. Said you were in trouble."

Relief washed over Nico like a tsunami, and despite himself he began to sob. _Will was coming. Will would come and this would all be over._

 _"_ Hey man, are you alright?" Nico nodded. He had to hurry; he was starting to wake up.

"Just, Iris message Will," Nico choked out. "Tell him to hurry, and—and I love him." Nico felt something slimy slide across his face.

And then he woke up.

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Will walked slowly out onto the deck, climbing the ladder into the crow's nest and staring at the stars. He couldn't get to sleep. His thoughts kept returning to Nico. He must be so scared. Will couldn't stop imagining Nico, alone and hurt on a ship somewhere in the middle of the ocean with no idea where he was or where he was going. Just thinking about threw Will's protective boyfriend instincts into overdrive. Will would swim the entire ocean if Nico needed him, and he was tempted to do it as soon as the Argo II started moving. It would never move fast enough.

Then he heard a voice behind him. "Will?"

Will turned around to see an Iris message of Clovis standing there in orange Camp-Half-Blood footie pjs and looking incredibly tired, which was nothing new. "Clovis!" Will said, "You scared me. What's up?"

Clovis looked at him, his expression nothing but serious. "Nico traveled into my dream."

"Is he okay? What did he say? Did he say where he is?" Will rushed.

"I don't know. He looked pretty beat up. Covered in bruises and stuff. And…he started crying when I told him you were coming, but I think they were happy tears, so… Anyways, he brought me a message for you."

Pain welled up in Will at the thought of Nico breaking his cool façade in front of Clovis of all people. "What was it?"

"He just said to hurry. And um…" Clovis blushed. "He said he loves you."

Will smiled through the tears in his eyes. "If you see him again, can you tell him I love him too? And…please, just tell him to hold on. Tell him we're coming."

Clovis nodded, yawning. "I should get back to sleep. It's late." He vanished.

Will woke Leo up that night, but still, the ship wasn't fast enough.

 **Short chapter, but at least its fastish.**

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	4. Chapter 4

**Hey peoples! This is a shortish chapter, so sorry. Also it's time to bring in Will Turner! WOOOHOOO!** **I recently discovered that there are two Wills in this fic, which makes things really hard.**

 _ **None of this is mine.**_

William Turner couldn't believe what he was seeing. Ever since meeting Captain Jack Sparrow it seemed as if nothing could surprise or disturb him, but here he was, watching in horror as the crew of the Flying Dutchman mercilessly flogged a young boy, passing the whip amongst themselves, laughing and taking bets on who could get the biggest reaction out of the boy. The boy must have been only 14 or 15 years old, yet he barely whimpered at his treatment, as though he was used to it. His ebony hair laid against his forehead amidst the crimson blood, the contrast making him impossibly pale. His back was just red, like a reverse apple after the peal has been eaten away.

One of the crew members, the one with the shell for a head gestured to Will, holding out the bloodied whip. "You want a go?" Will stepped back, shaking his head. He couldn't hurt this boy. No matter the circumstances he was in he was _not_ a pirate.

"Oh come on," another crew member said.

"No really, I'm okay. I don't want to."

The other crew members crept toward Will like a hoard of jackals, glaring at him and hissing at him and edging him on. "Is there a problem?" They all turned to see Davy Jones standing there next to Will's father, Bootstrap Turner.

"'E doesn't want to take a turn with the kid." One of the crew members said.

"Interesting," Davy Jones mused. "Why not?"

"I'm not very fond of the idea of beating an innocent kid." Will crossed his arms, glancing over at the boy who was lying on the ground, shaking.

"It's either him, or your father." Jones shoved Will's dad forwards.

"No!" Will was starting to panic. The whip was forced into his hand.

Then there was a small voice from behind him, thin and scratchy from abuse. "Do it."

He turned to the boy, who was staring at him with determination. "No way."

"You shouldn't have to hurt your own father. And besides, I've had worse. It's okay, really." The boy was trying to sound reassuring, but Will could hear a hint of fear in his voice. Still, when given the choice between this stranger and his own father, there wasn't much contest.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Will looked down at the whip in his hand, blood dripping from the tip, than looked back at the boy, steeling himself for the impact. "I'm sorry," he muttered, before bringing the whip down hard enough to make a slapping noise, but no more.

Davy Jones came up behind him, whispering in his ear. "Again. Harder." Will brought the whip down again with more force than before, blood splashing against the deck and earning a little whimper from the boy. "Harder." Will looked away and brought the whip down with even more force, wincing when he heard the boy scream.

"I'm sorry," Will said again. They struggled through seven more lashes before the boy passed out completely and a crew member carried him roughly below deck.

The other crew members cleared out to do their jobs, laughing and jeering about what had just happened. Will slumped down against a mast with his head in his hands. He could not believe he just did that. The boy's screams still echoed in his head. His father sat down next to him. "Thanks, Will."

Will glared at him. "Thanks for what? For beating a kid instead of you? A real father wouldn't have let me do that!"

"There was no easy way out of that situation. You handled it well."

"I hurt him! Hell! I was torturing him!"

"You're only human, Will. No one is completely good or bad. That was the best option you had."

Will remained silent, staring at the whip lying in the middle of the deck, soaking in the puddle of the boy's blood. "Where did they take him?" Will asked, surprisingly worried out the kid.

"He has a cell below deck. If you wanted to talk to him I'll warn ya he sleeps like a rock. It's pretty tough waking him up at all."

"How long has he been here?"

"This is his fourth day here. Ya know there something off 'bout that kid. The Capn' keeps sayn' he smells bad. And then there's the way 'e got 'ere." Will raised his eyebrows. "We didn't take 'im out of a port or off a ship or anything. He just appeared. Stepped out of the shadows like some sort of ghost or something. I don't think 'e's human."

Will chuckled, but then looked over to his father only to find that he was completely serious. He didn't respond; the look on his father's face was too serious and too scary. Instead he stood to go down to the cell, hoping to at least apologize for what he had done.

When he made it to the cells it wasn't hard for Will to find who he was looking for. There was only one cell that was occupied. All of the other had doors that were broken or hanging open or so covered in grime and barnacles it was hard to tell if they were actually doors. The boy was in the farthest cell, at the end or the hall. When he reached him, he didn't have any trouble getting in the cell because it wasn't even locked.

He was obviously conscious. He was slumped in the far corner, his knees hugged to his chest as he sobbed brokenly. Will moved next to him carefully, sliding to the ground against the wall. The boy tried to move away but he was pressed against the wall next to him, his eyes flashing with fear. "Please…" he whimpered.

"Ssh...Hey…I'm not going to hurt you." Will held his hands up like he was calming a wild animal and knelt next to him.

He looked at Will, disbelief written all over his face. "W-why not? Everyone else does..."

Will's heart broke at the utter despair in the boy's expression. "But that's not right... You shouldn't have to go through this. This is cruel." Then his father's words crossed his mind. _I don't think he's human._

"What's your name?" Will said this softly, but the boy jumped out of his skin. His eyes filled with so much fear they seemed to be glowing, and he looked like a dog being told to do two things at once, confused and afraid and betrayed. Then, like a dog, he lowered his head in what could only be described as a position of submission. When the boy spoke his voice was so soft Will had to lean in to hear him.

"Whore…My name's whore." The boy said shakily. Will reeled back in shock. Did he just say what he thought he said?! Then with a jolt Will realized the implication of what the trembling boy in front of him had said.

"No…you must have had another name before that one. Can you tell me what it is?" The boy was quickly falling apart at the seams, his breaths starting to come fast and ragged. Will kept coaxing him however.

"Come on, I'm not going to hurt you, but you must prefer to be called that other name, right?" After a minute the boy nodded hesitantly. Will smiled in encouragement. "Well, if you tell me it, I'll call you that name. It's okay if you don't want to, but I'd like it if you did." The boy looked conflicted, staring intensely at the floor in front of him. Then, even softer than the first time he spoke a name, he whispered.

" _Nico."_ Nico immediately flinched violently and he fell back into the dark, barnacle encrusted corner which he had slightly sat up from.

"Nico." Will gave a wide grin at thin child in front of him. "It's nice to meet you Nico! My name's Will." His eyes snapped up. The shaking child looked so lost, but Will quickly moved on, not giving Nico time to dwell on the current subject. "How did you end up here?"

He looked at Will, trying to judge his intentions. Will tried to keep that same grin on his face. "I-It's a long story. You shouldn't waste your time on me…" He stared at the floor, clearly avoiding eye contact.

Will could see in his body language how close to breaking down he was. "I have plenty of time to waste while I wait for the ship I was on to come and get me." He could see tears rush to the boy's eyes and Will knew he had struck a chord. "You're waiting for someone too?"

He gave a small nod.

"I'm going to clean you up. I'll be back in a moment." Will left, his mind reeling. He came back with a bucket of the cleanest water he could get his hands on and a rag. He knelt next to Nico.

"Can you lie on your stomach?" The child tensed and seemed to physically shrink as though he was trying to make Will's eyes skip right over him. "I'm not going to hurt you." Will soothed. "It's okay. I just want to clean up your back." Nico hesitantly consented, and sprawled out in front of Will.

He wet the rag and started gently wiping all of the blood, grime, and dirt off of the child's back, then turning him over to work on his front side and face. For the first time, Will was able to see his midnight black eyes. They were full of pain and anguish; far too much for one so young to carry.

Will thought of himself when he was Nico's age. Traipsing around Port Royale in his free time, taunting the sea gulls and learning fencing from his Master. The worst thing that happened to him was getting five lashings for ruining a sword in play. He could only imagine the horrors Nico had experienced, and there was no way he could have survived that as a child. He didn't know if he could survive that now.


	5. Chapter 5

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Will saw Nico over the next day, but never up close. He'd walk by other crew members beating him or…other, and immediately walk the other way, hoping to not have a repeat of yesterday. It was cruel. It was horrible, and every time he did it he remembered the way Nico had trusted him the day before when he cleaned his wounds, the way when Will left his eyes had glowed with the faintest bit of hope that just maybe things would be okay. But that was just why Will couldn't intervene. If he had to hurt the boy again, Nico would lose that hope. He would lose the only material thing he had to hold onto. Nico was Will's responsibility.

Will made sure to keep up with his responsibilities. Every morning and night, he would bring Nico half of his food and take care of his wounds. Then he would sit and talk with him, many times ending up having to comfort the boy when he had breakdowns. Will would hold Nico close while he sobbed into his chest and then eventually fell asleep. It was like trying to fill a whole covered bucket with water. Every time he visited he would find Nico a little more broken.

The last few times he had visited Nico wouldn't even talk anymore. Will would sit with him, tell him about Port Royale, talk about Elizabeth, but no matter how hard he tried he could not get a verbal response from Nico. He would just sit huddled in his corner and listen, his eyes glued perpetually to the splintery wooden floor. When Will cleaned the boy's wounds he would barely struggle anymore, only responding with a small whimper when Will got lower on his back.

The crew seemed to be getting bored with him now too. Will stumbled upon Nico on the deck less and less often, and when he did Nico just laid there, not even reacting to what was happening. It worried Will. If he didn't get Nico out of there soon…he didn't know how much longer the broken child could last.

…

Will was crouched on the upper deck scrubbing at a particularly stubborn spot of mold late in the afternoon when he saw it on the horizon. The Black Pearl was coming. Will was getting out tonight.

 **-0-**

 **-0-**

Will slung the sleeping child over his shoulder, being careful of his wounds. There was no time to wake him; this may be their only chance of escape, and besides, Nico could hardly walk. He crept out of the cell and up the rickety ladder to the porthole where a rope stretched across an angry, roaring sea. Lost in the sheets of rain and wailing wind, the Black Pearl lay.

He considered for a moment. Getting across by himself would've been easier; he had done more difficult things in the time he had spent on the ocean. Getting across while carrying another person however was an entirely different matter, even if that person was about as heavy as the clothes on Will's back. If he could somehow secure Nico to him…Will sighed. It seemed to be his only option. He quickly removed what was left of his shirt and used it to bind the younger boy to his back. He grit his teeth. Taking Nico into the rain would be dangerous. He was sickly enough as it was; his wounds were infected, he was malnourished, and he had lost a lot of blood. Will did not want to add hypothermia to the list.

Heart pounding, Will climbed out onto the rope, swinging upside down so he was hugging the rope with his arms and legs and the stinging rain bit him full force instead of Nico. He began to creep forwards, praying that the cloth holding the boy to his back would hold. If he fell now he might never forgive himself. He kept climbing, trying to not be distracted by the wind and rain. _Right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot._

When he was about halfway across and the rope was slick with rain and blood from his torn hands, he heard a ripping sound and felt some of the pressure on his back vanish. The cloth was breaking. There was nothing he could but crawl faster. He could hear angry shouting behind him as the rest of the crew of the Flying Dutchman found out they were escaping.

Next thing Will knew, the rope jolted downward with its sudden lack of support, and he and Nico plummeted towards the black ocean. Will was sure they would be dead and thought, _at least Nico won't be awake for this,_ but then he woke up, screaming. The boy's arms locked around Will's chest and there was nothing but darkness and cold and voices that seemed to say nothing and everything at the same time and Will thought he had died, but then he stumbled onto the deck of the Black Pearl.

He collapsed to the ground, allowing himself five seconds of heavy breathing before he pushed himself up to look for Nico. He found the boy unconscious, curled up in the fetal position and shivering violently. He sighed in relief and went to pick him up, but his hands passed right through Nico like he was made of smoke. Will pulled back quickly, gasping, and then tried again. This time, he was able to gently cradle frail body in his arms. Quickly he ran up the deck to the stern where Elizabeth stood at the wheel, her auburn hair sticking to her face.

When she saw him, she quickly spun the wheel, turning them away from the dead ship. Will reached over and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "Will! You're back!" Elizabeth initiated another, more passionate kiss, to which Will quickly obliged. When she went to pull him closer, she seemed to notice the body in his arms. "Who is this?" She pushed Nico's ebony hair out of his eyes, stroking his forehead. "He's freezing. And why is he naked?"

Will take a deep breath. Some parts of him still saw Elizabeth as the prim noblewoman on Port Royal. He was loth to explain this to her, but he knew it was necessary. "Elizabeth, let's go inside. I'll explain then." 

**Alright sorry for the wait. I was at camp but now I do have a chapter to make up for it so please don't hurt me!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright sorry for the wait. I was at camp but now I do have a chapter to make up for it so please don't hurt me!**

 **Hey guys, I'm finally back! *dodges rocks* Sheesh, you guys are intense. Sorry. Well, have fun!**

 **Jack's POV**

Jack Sparrow must've been rrreally drunk last night. Last he checked he had fallen asleep in his bed, not on the floor next to it. He groaned and opened his eyes, arching his back like a cat, to see Elizabeth walking away from him hurriedly and whispering with Will in hushed voices. Wait. Will? Oh nuhnononono. Jack sat up, staring at Will. "When did he get here?"

Elizabeth glared at him again. She had done a lot of that since Jack had refused to go back for Will. If Will fell behind, he should get left behind, but of course here he was, and it was probably Elizabeth's fault. "Just now, actually. Since you wouldn't go back for him, I took things into my own hands." She gave him a smug grin.

This whole time Will's attention had been on the bed that Elizabeth had just pushed Jack out of. Jack pushed past where Elizabeth was facing him with her hands on her hips to look at what he was doing. There was a young boy, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old, lying in his bed. He had immediately curled into a tight ball, shivering. He looked awful. His entire body was covered in black and blue and purple bruises and his back was nothing but a mess of torn skin and blood. And a lovely little detail he might add was that the boy was naked. Lovely sight. Just lovely.

"What is that?"

Will looked up at him grimly. "His name is Nico. He was a prisoner on the Dutchman. They were torturing him. I couldn't just leave him behind."

Jack glared at the whelp. "William. We don't have time or space to care for a kid, and besides, and more importantly, I don't want to."

"Don't you see him? He couldn't stay there a second longer. He would've died if I hadn't taken him!" Will said as he covered the shaking boy with a blanket, making a valiant attempt at matching Jack's glare.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "Will? You said you would explain everything."

Will sighed, sitting down. "I will. First I need bandages and some clean water." He looked at Jack. "You could get that, right?"

Jack snorted indigently. "I am a captain! Get the stuff yourself."

"Please, Jack."

"No way."

"Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth snapped, shocking them both.

"Fine," he pouted. Sparrow stomped off, returning a few minutes later a bucket of water, some bandages and a rag.

"Thank you," Will said, taking the items. Then he turned his attention back to the boy as if the other two weren't there. He put a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, rolling him onto his back. "Nico," he said in a soft voice, "Can you hear me?" The child gave a small mix between a groan and a whimper, a sound that usually didn't mean anything, but Will seemed to take it as consent. He helped Nico sit up and cupped some water in his hands. "I brought you some water. You need to drink for me, okay? You're dehydrated." The boy didn't need to be told twice. He drank desperately, not even stopping for breath as he sucked up five handfuls before Will pulled away. "I don't want you to be sick."

The little whelp's eyes opened slowly and Jack wasn't surprised at what he saw. They were black as the ocean on a stormy night and so scared. But they were also old. So much older than his body showed. They had seen so many hardships and so much sorrow that it made Jack almost feel a hint of emotion for the boy.

He locked his fearful eyes on Will for a few seconds before they darted to the other two people in the room and he shrunk back, whimpering softly. "It's okay, Nico. They're friends. They won't hurt you. We're on my ship now." Jack cleared his throat and Will glared at him. "You're safe." A small smile ghosted across his face and he curled up on his side, peacefully asleep.

Will sighed as he started to clean the boy's wounds. "When I got on the ship he had already been there for four days. He was in pretty bad shape when I saw him. He had been whipped and beaten many times and…" Will stopped his work to look at the two. "and they raped him."

Jack cursed. He pulled his pistol from his pocket and pointed it at the boy's head, releasing the safety with an ominous click. Elizabeth jumped up immediately and grabbed the gun from his hands, crying, "What are you doing!?"

Jack glared at her. "I'm doing him a kindness! Trust me, when he wakes up fully and gets his bearings he will wish you hadn't stopped me."

"But we can't just kill him!" She shouted, and then stopped and took a deep breath. "We need to help him through this."

"And, Jack," Will cut in, "it's not like he'll be here for very long. He has some friends that are looking for him as we speak."

"How do you know that?" Jack asked skeptically, raising one eyebrow. "How do you know these 'friends' didn't just give up on him?"

Will frowned. "I… I don't know actually. That's just what Nico told me."

"And he doesn't seem very much in his right mind right?"

"No… I guess not."

"So then it was probably just wishful thinking." Will opened his mouth to protest but Jack cut him off. "We'll set course for Tortuga and drop him off there."

"He won't last a second there! If we had to get rid of him we should at least find someone trustworthy or civilized on Port Royale to give him to." Will sighed. "For now, we just need to do what we can to help him heal."

 **Nico's POV**

Nico could sense Will's dreams as soon as he fell asleep. The son of Apollo seemed to be actually trying dream-traveling, even though most demigods couldn't even dream of it; so to speak. Nico looked down at himself, surprised to see he was wearing a slightly torn up black skull t-shirt and ripped black skinny jeans, the same thing he was wearing when he was first captured. But through the tears and rips all of his wounds could be seen easily. He knew Will would be furious at him for letting himself get hurt like that and he didn't want to face him; to see the anger and revulsion that he was sure would fill Wills gaze when he saw what had happened, but he needed his boyfriend, and would risk being hated by him if he could just see him one more time.

Will was dreaming that he was working in the infirmary. It was just a regularly slow day at camp, with the sun streaming through the white curtains on the windows and pegasi flew by with campers on their backs. Nico didn't want to destroy such a nice dream, but he needed Will. He stepped out of the shadows. "Will?" he said, surprised at how weak and scared his voice was.

Will spun around and everyone else vanished. "Nico!" he shouted, making the son of Hades flinch. "Oh gods, Nico…"

He couldn't hold back any longer. Nico and Will seemed to lunge for each other at the same time, hugging fiercely as Nico sobbed into the son of Apollo's shoulder while he rubbed his back soothingly. Will felt strong and solid and warm against him and he knew he didn't deserve it, he knew he was just a whore, but he missed Will so much. "I'm so sorry," he choked out, feeling Will stiffen.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Angel. Anything that happened… it's not your fault."

Nico just cried harder. He cared about Will. He loved him. But Will wouldn't be able to love him back once he knew what had happened, while he never wanted that to happen, he knew that it wasn't fair to Will not to tell him. Will needed to know _what_ he was kissing on the forehead so he could stop and wash his mouth out. He tried to answer; to at least tell him what had happened, but he couldn't get out anything more than a choked whimper. Will guided the Nico over to the nearest infirmary bed and they sat down, never letting go of each other. Neither of them could tell how long they sat there before the tears stopped, but Nico didn't let go of him. "I met someone on the ship," Nico said quietly, almost whispering.

He felt Will tense. "No not like that." Will relaxed. Nico chuckled softly. "He's straight, and a lot older than me, and he has a girlfriend, and…and I love you too much." Nico looked at the ground in shame; this was it, Will would say he doesn't love him anymore. But Will just pulled him closer, planting a little kiss on his head.

"I love you too sweetheart." Nico looked up at him with wide eyes.

"R-really?" Will frowned, and Nico was so scared he'd say no.

"Of course I do, why would I not? How could I not?" Huge tears started leaking from Nico's eyes.

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what I did…"

"Nico…" Will gently began kissing the tears off Nico's face. "I know what happened to you." Nico's eyes widened, and he started breathing heavily. _Will knew, how did he know? Why is he still holding me, is he, oh gods is he going to do it too?!_ "I saw it in an Iris message, but Angel, it wasn't your fault. I still love you, more than anything. You did nothing wrong." Will's voice broke. "I love you so much baby." Nico was sobbing at this point, again. His head repelled everything his boyfriend said. It just couldn't be possible. Will must be joking. Anytime now he's going to say that he's breaking up with him and never wants to see him again.

Will must have thought Nico believed him because he didn't say much else, just sitting and holding him and whispering declarations of love in his ear until he calmed down again. "So," Will said with a lighter tone, "Tell me more about this person you met."

"Well, his name is Will too. He has a ship, and when his crew came to get him, he took me with him. I think…" Nico hesitated. Why was it so hard to process what he's about to say? "I think I might be safe here."


	7. Chapter 7

The boy was too pale. His face was too sweaty, his back was too bloody, his eyes were too haunted, and his sleep was too restless. Elizabeth had been sitting by his bedside, pressing a cool cloth to his forehead, hoping to control his constantly rising fever. She had taken Will's place about an hour ago, sending her lover off to get some needed rest. Elizabeth was no doctor, but she could see how dire Nico's condition was. All of his wounds were infected. He had woken up many times that night to throw up what little food they could get into his stomach. In the small moments that he was awake, he would just lay there, shivering and showing barely any sign of recognizing where he was or what was happening around him.

"How's he doing?" Will asked, sliding into the room silently. They have both asked that at least once, and have gotten the same answer.

"Same." Even though they both knew the real answer. _Worse._ As much as they hated to admit it, Nico was slowly dying, and there was nothing they could do about it. 

"I brought you some breakfast." He set down a bowl of soup on the table next to the bed.

"Do you think I should at least try to get some water in him? He's too dehydrated. Maybe if we could just get him to keep some water down he'll start to get better," she said hopefully, knowing that it wouldn't help.

Will sat down on the edge of the bed. Nico took up so little space that the indention Will made when he sat didn't even reach him. "Has he woken up at all?"

"A few times, to throw up or from nightmares." Elizabeth looked like she was about to cry. "Will, he's so much worse. I don't think he's going to make it through today without medicine."

 **Will's POV (Solace, not Turner)**

"He needs help." The Seven and Will were sitting around the table, all extremely tense as the topic of Nico came up, as they always were.

"We're trying as hard as we can, Will," Percy assured him, "but with more than half our oars damaged from that last monster attack we can't go much faster."

"That's not what I meant. He traveled into my dream last night and told me that he had been rescued by someone, but I could see all his injuries and I could tell that he was dying in the real world. His wounds are infected and he must have caught some kind of… disease from the pirates." Will stumbled over his words. "He needs nectar or ambrosia or both. And he needs it now."

"But how are we supposed to get it to him? We don't even know what ship he's on." Frank asked, paling when they all looked at him, the same idea dawning on them at the same time.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"The captain's name is Jack Sparrow. His second-in-command is named Will Turner. He has a girlfriend. Annabeth's research on the name Jack Sparrow told us that the ship is called the Black Pearl. Here's the picture." Will showed Frank a drawn picture of a ship with black sails. "Here's the nectar and ambrosia." He handed him a small bag with a leather handle. "Make sure you don't give him too much and come back as soon as you can and tell us everything. Make sure to find out where they're headed and tell us so we can meet them."

Frank put a hand on Will's shoulder. "It's going to be fine." Then he turned into a seagull, grabbed the bag in his claws, and flew into the distance.

 **Will's POV (Will Turner this time)**

The bird holding the satchel was strange enough, but it was even stranger when it turned into a teenage boy. The boy was oriental, with hair that looked like Jack's chin and a round, babyish face that completely contrasted his strong build that Will was admittedly jealous of. "Are you Will Turner, Jack Sparrow, or Elizabeth Swan?" He asked the question like he had asked it a million times.

Will could tell this question was extremely important to the boy. "Yes. I'm Will Turner."

The boy squinted. "So this is the Black Pearl?"

"Yes."

His face relaxed. "I'm Frank. Where's Nico?"

Oh. So this was about Nico. This bird-boy must be one of these friends he was talking about. _Maybe I was right in thinking he wasn't human._ But Will wasn't so prepared to trust someone who…turned into birds…"He's below deck, but he's…not doing so well."

Frank nodded. "Our healer contacted him. I came with medicine."

Will's heart soared. His prayers had been answered! "Come with me."

Frank followed him eagerly, his whole body thrumming with anticipation. The guy looked like he could snap Will in half without a second thought, but he seemed more like as big puppy than anything else. Totally harmless.

When they made it to Nico's room, he looked twice as bad as he was when he left. He was lying on his back on the bed, a mound of blankets piled on top of him and yet shivers still shook his body and small gasps for breath wheezed past his parched lips. The occasional keening whimper ripped from his throat as he thrashed around. It was horrible to look at. He wasn't going to last much longer. Elizabeth was still trying to bring his temperature down, but now her actions were nothing but desperate.

"Oh gods…" Frank murmured, "Nico…" He rushed to his side, brushing the sweaty hair off his forehead. The boy didn't even stir. "Can you hear me?"

"He hasn't been fully awake since this morning." Will said in a controlled monotone. It would help nothing if he broke down, but Nico dying now, after all he'd been through, was a horrible thought.

"It's worse than we thought," Frank muttered. He gently pulled Nico into more of a sitting position, gaining a small groan from the boy, and took a canteen out of the bag he was holding and held it to his lips.

"He hasn't been able to keep anything down. I doubt this will be an exception." Will warned.

"He has too. He'll die otherwise." With that, Frank poured a small amount of golden liquid into his slightly open mouth. Nico gasped and started coughing violently, trying to reject the liquid, but Frank calmly put a gentle hand over his mouth, forcing him to swallow. This time, he kept it down and Frank gave him some more a little bit at a time, until he finally screwed the cap back on the canteen.

"What…" Nico muttered, obviously more awake than he was minutes ago. Whatever this medicine was, it worked fast. Wounds were closing up before his eyes, some of the color returning to his face and signs of the fever vanishing.

"Nico. It's me, Frank. The others sent me ahead with nectar for you."

"F-Frank?! How…?" Nico croaked, his voice scratchy from disuse. Frank scratched his neck and looked at the ground.

"I, um…turned into a bird." He waved his arms at his side dramatically in what Will assumed was an awkward attempt to cheer Nico up.

When Nico didn't react, Frank hesitated. "Are your eyes okay? Can you open them?"

"No," he said immediately. "Hurts."

Frank's brow furrowed. "Your eyes hurt?"

"Just the left one..." With every word, Nico sounded more tired. The fever must have taken a serious toll on him.

Gently, Frank pulled Nico's left eye open, but the boy pulled away, crying out in pain. "Stop!"

Frank pulled away. "I'm sorry, but I have to look at your eye. It will only take a second."

Nico shook his head quickly. "Please no..." Frank looked at Will despairingly. Will got the message. He gently slid under Nico so he was leaning on his chest. He put one hand on Nico's forehead, trapping his head against Will's shoulder, trying to ignore his weak struggles and pleas to be let go. Nico's breathing began to come quicker, and Will felt him trembling hard. He began shushing him softly.

"Nico, I'm not going to hurt you. We just need to look at your eye; I'm not going to hurt you." Nico slowly stopped struggling, but his trembling increased and huge tears rolled down his cheeks. Frank reluctantly approached Nico and peeled back his eyelid. Will couldn't see what he was looking at, but it must have been bad because Frank's face turned a sickly shade of green. Will craned his head to look.

His eye reminded Will of his back, bloody and torn. Blood leaked out of it like the tears that ran down the other side, following the cuts—now scars-on his face like water in a riverbed. Frank covered Nico's good eye with one hand and asked if he could see. He got a shake of his head in return. "He must have gotten dirt or sand or something trapped under his eyelid so that every time he blinked it would scratch his eye. If it still hurts then I'm guessing it's still there. I'm gonna see if I can wash it out." Frank grabbed the canteen of the liquid and poured a small amount of it in Nico's eye, washing out blood and a few grains of dirt.

When he was done he pulled his hand away and let Nico close his eyes. Will relaxed his arms so he held Nico in less of a restraint and more of a comforting hold. Nico rested his head on Will's chest and curled against him, accepting the comfort he offered, now silent except for the occasional little whimper. Will kissed the top of his head tenderly, rubbing his back soothingly. Frank hated to interrupt them but, of course, this was important. "Will? Can I talk to you and your captain? I'll need to get back to my ship very soon to give them an update on Nico."

Will slowly extracted himself out from under Nico, who had fallen asleep quickly. Just as he was following Frank out of the door, Elizabeth grabbed his hand. "Who is he?" she asked in a hushed voice, "What is he doing here?"

"He's one of Nico's friends. They contacted him somehow and sent him ahead with medicine."

"Contacted him?" She squeaked, "But he's bedridden! And how did he get here? Does he have a ship?"

"Um… No. He turned into a bird and flew here."

Elizabeth chuckled, but the smile quickly faded. "You're serious?"

"Completely. He might do it again as he's leaving if you don't believe me."

Frank cleared his throat impatiently.

"Can you stay with Nico while I talk to Frank? I shouldn't be too long."

The conversation lasted for a good thirty minutes, starting out with Jack totally believing that Frank turned into a bird, and Will thoroughly checked that his rum was just rum. After they were certain that Jack was _only_ drunk, the three moved onto the business of Nico. Eventually, with Frank's insistence that the matter stays as private as possible, they agreed to meet outside the very same island Jack was banished to before, when his crew had overtaken him. They had marked the place on a map and given it to Frank to take back to his ship. Soon they found themselves back in Nico's room, where the boy was still sleeping, snuggled against Elizabeth, who was stroking his hair and singing softly.

"Can I… can I talk to Nico alone for a minute?" Frank was fingering the satchel he was holding nervously.

"Of course," Will answered. He, Jack, and Elizabeth left the room quietly. Nico was jostled when Elizabeth got up and he woke, blinking (well, winking) sleepily.

 **Frank's POV**

Frank and Nico sat in silence for many moments, both lost in their own thoughts. Frank still had trouble processing what had happened. Five days had made Nico a completely different person. Granted, Frank hadn't known him very well before, but the younger boy had always seemed intimidating, as though he was made of iron spikes. And skulls. And death. Now though, he was fragile and hurt, flinching at every sound or movement. He used to refuse help from everyone, but now he embraced every offered piece of comfort, as though he was grateful anyone would even offer it. His hands shook constantly and his good eye flashed around nervously, like he was waiting for someone to attack him.

"Will misses you. A lot," Frank said, watching with interest as extremely complicated emotions crossed his face at Will's name. He didn't know what Nico was thinking, but he wasn't sure if it was good. "We all miss you," he quickly amended, "But Will especially. He told me to give you this." Frank pulled it out of his bag. It was a honey-colored stuffed bear with a little sun sewn on its chest. Frank had been someone bewildered when Will handed it to him, thinking something along the lines of _Wouldn't a stuffed skull be better?_ but now, seeing Nico's awed expression as he gingerly took the bear and fingered the sun as though it would rip off. Tears sprang to his dark eye.

"Thank you," he whispered, obviously at a loss as to what to do. He buried his face in the bear's stomach and stayed in that position for longer than Frank thought was necessary before he realized that Nico was _smelling_ it.

Frank smiled awkwardly. "You're welcome." They didn't say anything for a while, and Frank shuffled his feet. "Listen…I should go. The others will want to know where you are." Nico nodded from behind his bear.

"Th-thank you." Nico said one more time.

"You're welcome." Frank responded again, giving a small chuckle. Then he backed out of the door and closed it gently.


	8. Chapter 8

**Will's POV**

Nico was able to walk again within the same hour Frank left. That medicine must have been extremely potent. Frank had given Will the canteen of the medicine, but he warned him to only use it in emergencies, and in very small amounts, or it would kill him. Will didn't understand how it worked, but this boy could turn into a bird, so he decided he should probably not question him. One must never question a message from God.

He remembered Frank's last words to him before departing. "Take good care of Nico for us. A lot of people would be hurt if we lost him." Frank's face had become incredibly sad. "He's had such a hard life already. We thought he could finally be happy. He didn't deserve this, not after all he's been through."

This made Will start to wonder about Nico's past. He realized that he didn't know anything at all about what Nico's life was like before this, and he was eager to know more. He hoped to ask when his friends came to get him, assuming there weren't any more visits from Frank before that.

Nico was doing a lot better. Jack had given him an eyepatch that he got from who knows where. He had started spending more time outside on deck, preferring to sit with his legs hanging over the side and his head rested on a rail, staring off into the distance. Will sat with him sometimes, talking idly to him or just sitting in silence. Nico didn't talk much either, besides the occasional hesitant comment or a very short answer to a question addressed to him. But often he sat alone, letting the winds gently ruffle his feathery black hair.

One such day, Will was staring out at the horizon, when he heard a scream that he knew all too well. He rushed to the port deck, dread coiling in his stomach. He found Nico cowering against a wall with the tip of Gibb's sword touching his throat. A new bruise was forming on his cheek where he had clearly been struck. Will shoved Gibbs away from the trembling child. "What do you think you're doing?!" he shouted, not caring who heard.

"I found a stowaway."

"He's been on this ship for two days!"

"You knew about this?!"

"I brought him here!" Will knelt down next to the hyperventilating boy and drew him into his arms, hiding him from the glare of the crewmen filtering in. He looked down at Nico's rapidly purpling cheek and stroked it gently. Nico flinched away from him. A flash of anger and betrayal surged through him. "Did you hit him!?"

"Yes."

Will didn't waste time dropping Nico, spinning around, and punching Gibbs hard on the jaw. The man fell back, falling onto a rail, clutching his face. "You little-"

"Enough!" Everyone turned to face Jack Sparrow with a feature on his face that was rarely genuinely seen; anger. "Will, Elizabeth, take the whelp below deck. I need to have a little talk with my crew."

Will turned around and grimaced at the sight of Nico curled in the fetal position with his knees tucked under his chin. He gently scooped him up, trying to ignore the sound of Jack shouting at his crew, and carried him down the ladder, clutching him to his body to cease his trembling. He sat Nico on his bed and brushed his hair out of his face. "Are you okay?" He murmured gently in an attempt not to startle him.

"Yeah." Nico said in a quivering voice. "He j-just scared me, that's all."

"I'm so sorry. I thought the crew knew you were here".

"I thought he was going to…" A tear ran down his cheek, and he wiped it away quickly. "I'm sorry. I'm such a mess. I've been to Hell and back; I should be stronger than this! Why am I so weak?" Nico's voice broke, and a choked sob escaped his lips.

"Nico…" William started toward Nico, but the boy leaped up out of the bed, backing away.

"NO!" He screamed, and before Will could stop him, Nico ran from the room.

 **Jack's POV**

Jack found Nico sitting in the cargo bay, curled up on an empty, cobweb covered crate, sobbing into his hands. Joy. "Hey mate," Jack said, sitting down on a crate a couple feet away from him. Nico jumped, quickly wiping his eye and nose, clearly not wanting Jack to see him cry.

"You here to baby me too?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Will and Elizabeth always treat me like a child. I'm sick of it."

"You are a child." Nico glared at Jack, the look in his eye making him want to crawl into a hole and hide, but Jack held strong, staring at him unblinkingly for like twenty seconds without blinking. The boy finally looked away and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Okay then. If you want to treated like an adult…" Jack pulled out his flask, which he had with him at all times. "Have some. I've seen you limping. It will take the edge off."

Nico squinted. "What is it?"

"Rum."

The boy glared at Jack for a few more seconds before snatching the flask and taking a huge swig, swallowing it quickly. He immediately doubled over and started coughing violently. Jack hadn't expected him to drink it. He had expected to be teaching him a lesson, something he'd practiced in his early days with Will, but Jack never passed off a chance to get drunk with someone. Jack chuckled and took a swig of his own.

Half of an hour later, Nico was lying on Jack's lap on the floor. He didn't seem to be able to decide whether he was laughing hysterically or sobbing; he was doing a good job at both. Right now he was laughing. "I think I love Will!" He cried, "I mean, I have loved him for a loooooooooooong time, but I think really really love him. We should get married!" His laughing soon turned into loud sobbing. "I'm not a virrrrgin anymore and now he's not going to love me back!"

This confused Jack.

"Well love, your Will seems to be rather taken with my Elizabeth, so I don't think he'd go for you anyhow, savvy?" Nico sobbed harder, and began saying something in gibberish that Jack didn't, and had no hope of, understanding. It sounded like a different language.

That was when Will decided to join the party. He came storming down the ladder, spinning around and stopping in his tracks when he saw the two on the floor draped across each other, and the two empty bottles lying next to them. Nico forgot that he was supposed to be crying and grinned up at Will "Will!" He stumbled to his feet and made it a couple feet in Will's direction before falling over again. "I've always thought it was soooo weird that you have the same name as my boyfriend! Isn't that cool!"

"Jack!" Will snapped, "Is he drunk?"

"Noooooo…" Jack slurred.

Nico lurched forward suddenly and threw up all over Will's shoes. Will raised his eyebrows.

"Okay maybe a little…"

"Come on, Nico." Will scooped him up, Nico squirming and giggling as Will climbed the ladder. Will turned his head to glare at the now-dejected looking pirate. "I'll deal with you later."

"So what? Did you turn into birds too?" The two teenagers turned around from their place at the edge of the ship. One of them had tousled black hair like Nico, but the similarities ended there. He was a lot taller than Nico, with eyes like river rocks and a perfect tan. The other guy had short blond hair and icy blue eyes framed by spectacles. They had not been on the ship last Will checked.

The black haired one snorted. "Nah. That's Frank's thing. I swam. Jason flew." He gestured to the blond guy, who must have been Jason. "I'm Percy. And you are…"

"Will Turner." They shook hands. "I'm guessing you're here about Nico?" They nodded in unison, reminding Will of the nursery rhyme Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

"Can we see him?" Jason asked, worried. Will grimaced. Nico was currently experiencing the aftermath of yesterday's indulgence, and was extremely irritable.

"He's below deck. There was a bit of an incident last night, but he's okay. Follow me."

 **Percy's POV**

When they opened the door into the pitch black room, Nico groaned loudly. "Bright!" he hissed, "Too bright!" It reminded Percy of that movie about gremlins, furry little animals that were scared of bright lights and would kill you if you fed them at the wrong time. Will closed the door behind the three of them quickly.

"Nico," Will said softly, "You have some friends here to see you."

"Ngh," Percy heard Nico moan. "People. Loud. Hurts."

He could make out Nico's dark outline sitting up in his bed. "Seriously," Percy said. "Can we get some lights going on in here?"

"Percy?" Nico asked in disbelief, looking up slightly. Will felt his way over to Jack's desk where there was a dusty oil lantern. He dug around in a drawer for a moment, and drew out a lose match, which he scraped against the rough-grained table and used to light the wick. Nico shielded his eyes and groaned, trying to hide behind a plush bear that Percy remembered seeing Will give to Frank before he had left.

Frank had said that Nico looked bad, but that didn't prepare him for this. Nico was paler that he usually was, which was saying something. He had an eyepatch covering his left eye. There were scars covering his face that almost looked like they were there on purpose. All of them were long curving lines, starting under his eyes and moving downwards like tears. Percy grimaced. Those must have hurt.

After the initial shock of seeing Nico's condition, Jason was first to move. He came forwards, not missing Nico's flinch as he approached, arms outstretched. Nico seemed shocked for a moment when Jason hugged him before hesitantly wrapping his arms around him and burying his head in his shoulder. Jason pulled away after a few seconds, giving Nico a sad smile. Not to be shown up, Percy did the same, trying to be as gentle and non-threatening as possible, yet for some reason, Nico trembled lightly under him. Then the world went black.

Percy found himself standing on the deck of a ship, but it wasn't the Black Pearl or the Argo II. He looked down, finding that his body was almost transparent with a purplish hue, like how Frank had described about Hazel's flashbacks. The sails of the ship were torn, barely held together by threads. The wood of the ship was covered in shells and barnacles that made it look like it belonged deep under the sea. The people in the crew all seemed to be half sea creature, all of them with harsh faces and permanent sneers. Most of them seemed to be crowded around something in the middle of the deck. _That's Nico!_ Percy realized with a shock.

Nico was lying face down on the deck, his nails scratching against the rotting wood and his face set in a pained grimace, tears streaming down his cheeks as he sobbed and begged for them to stop. The crew was surrounding him, laughing and jeering at his pain. Another crewman was in the middle of the rough circle leaning over Nico from behind, moving- _oh gods…_ Percy sprinted to the edge of the ship and threw up over the side.

A purple, ghostly version of Nico stood next to where Percy had appeared. He was shaking as he watched what was happening in front of him, the tears on his face mirroring those of the version of himself on the ground. "Nico?" Percy tried to keep his voice soft but the son of Hades still jumped. "Where are we?"

"This is the past. It's the first time th-this has happened, but I think I'm having a f-flashback, like the ones Hazel used t-to have."

On the deck, Nico let out a loud scream, writhing under his attacker. The crewman laughed out loud and stood up, buckling his pants. The son of Hades rested his head on the wood, completely taxed from what had just happened, silent tears falling down his face. Percy almost threw up again.

"Whore!" A harsh voice yelled. Both Nicos flinched simultaneously, the one on the deck curling in on himself, the one next to Percy holding his arms against his chest in what seemed to be an attempt to imitate an embrace.

"Hey man," Percy said, stepping closer to his friend. "Can I hug you?" Nico, looking up at the taller boy through dark lashes, hesitantly nodded, and stepped awkwardly towards Percy. Percy sighed, exasperated, and closed the distance between them, pulling the slight boy against him (when they got home he would be feeding him a LOT of happy meals), tucking his head under his chin. He had never understood why some people were so shy about physical contact. Growing up, hugs between him and his mom were frequent, and often unprompted, but as he got older he noticed others did not share his same enthusiasm for touch. Still, it was his only method for comforting people, and he was glad to use it for Nico.

Nico burrowed further into Percy as the squid faced man who Percy vaguely recognized from his dad's court (Percy had seen his Poseidon yelling at him for not doing his job) stepped toward the child on the deck. Percy held him back in equal fervor, watching the scene play out.

The squid man scooped past Nico up and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, carrying him across the deck towards the stern and into what must've been his office. Nico lay limp across his back, choked sobs escaping him, and then he vanished into the room, the door slamming behind him.

Suddenly Percy was there too, Nico still in his arms, taking in his surroundings. The room was dimly lit, and ornate in an old sort of way that reminded Percy of those steampunk clothes Thalia would wear sometimes. Squid man threw Nico in a chair, the boy giving a small gasp of pain from the impact.

"I've been watching you." The squid man walked slowly to his desk, picking up a long knife that was sitting there on the scarred wood. "You're a demigod." Nico's eyes widened. "I can smell it." Squid man licked his lips, and both Percy and past-Nico shuddered. "So I need to know some things. And you will tell me. Who is your parent? Where are all the other demigods based? What weapons and defenses do they have at their disposal? How many of them are there?"

Percy looked down at Nico, who was hiding his face in Percy's shirt,—which was now wet, and wasn't drying like normal-still trembling. "He wants to attack Camp?" Nico nodded.

In the flash-back, Nico was silent. "Answer me!" Squid yelled, slapping Nico had across the face. He didn't react past a small gasp. He had been expecting it. There was still no answer. Squid man slid the blunt edge of his knife against Nico's cheek. "Don't make me use this." A small tear ran down his face, but he still didn't say anything. "Why do you always do that?!" Squid shouted in frustration . "Why do you always cry like that?" He pressed the sharp tip of the knife dangerously close to his eye, dragging it downwards, following the trail the tear had left. Nico screamed, struggling and fighting against the attacking blade, but Squid was strong. More tears came down his face and every other one got a new cut, some deeper than others. Blood mixed with his tears, making Nico look like something out of a horror movie. The whole time, Squid demanded answers with no response from his victim. Finally, he stopped.

"Listen, boy. Clearly this method isn't working, so we're going to try something else." Squid knelt next to him, staring into his pain-filled eyes with his own hard ones. "If you tell me what I want to know…" A pause for dramatic effect. "I'll let you go."

Nico's eyes widened. He considered this for a moment. Percy could see him weighing his options, the gears turning in his head, trying to convince him to just talk and get out of here. Percy could tell he wanted to. His mouth opened for a moment, before he closed it and shook his head. Squid growled. The memory faded with a scream of pain.


	9. Chapter 9

Percy's eyes shot open. He found himself slumped in Jason's arms like a Disney princess, the blond staring down at him with concern. "You okay bro?" Percy nodded, still in shock from what he had seen. On the bed, Nico was shaking violently and hyperventilating while Will held him, trying to calm him down. He still couldn't believe Nico had been able to hold out against Jones, even when he was being tortured mercilessly. It amazed him how one person could be so strong and so loyal to the camp that he would let so much happen to him to protect it. Percy wished he could be that brave.

Finally, Nico calmed down, the tears coming to a stop as his trembling started to ebb until he was just lying in Will's arms, staring at some point on the wall, clutching his bear to his chest. Percy sat up from Jason's lap and walked over to him. "Nico?" he asked softly, trying not to scare him. Nico flinched. "I have a question, if you don't mind."

Nico nodded, not looking up.

"Did you ever tell him?" Percy saw Nico tense slightly before he relaxed and shook his head slightly.

"I-I wouldn't," Then he groaned and clutched at his head, doubling over. Jason frowned.

"Are you okay? Will said something happened…"

"M'fine... just a b-bit hungover."

Jason and Percy both yelled "What!?" at the same time. A hangover implied Nico had been drunk. He was too young to get drunk. "How did that happen?" Jason had seemed to accept the idea a lot faster than Percy, who was still in shock.

"The captain isn't exactly what you would call mature. He thought it would be a good idea to give him a whole bottle of rum to drown his sorrows in." Will supplied.

Percy winced. "That's a lot of booze." As hard as he tried, he couldn't imagine what Nico would be like drunk. He would have to ask Will for details later.

"Fuck you guys…" The younger boy moaned, rolling over and burying his face in his pillow. His shirt rode up slightly, and Percy caught sight of numerous barely healed scars.

"Nico…did you drink the nectar Frank brought?" Nico looked up, his brow scrunched in confusion.

"I drank it."

"Then why…" Percy reached out to touch Nico's lower back, but as soon as his hand ghosted across his skin, he cried out, flinching away from him violently. "Oh, sorry bro," Percy reached out his arms to wrap around Nico, but to his shock, Nico let out a shriek and crawled up the bed away from him. His breathing began to come faster, and he was letting out harsh sobs. "Oh my gods, sorry bro, I thought you liked hugs." Nico shook his head violently, burying his face into his pillow. Will stood up.

"We should leave him alone. Usually physical comfort works with him, but I never know what to do when he gets like this." Jason shook his head.

"No, I actually think I can handle this. You two go." Wil looked at him with suspicion, but Percy nodded. Jason knew Nico pretty well, and if anyone could help him right now, it was him.

"Yeah, I think Jason can handle this. Come on Will." Will still seemed dubious, but he followed Percy out the door and into the blinding Caribbean sun.  
 **Jason's POV**

As Percy and Will left the room, Jason knelt down on the bed next to Nico, who seemed to be thrashing against some unseen foe.

"Nico," He murmured, softly, but firmly. "Tell me where you are." Nico gave no sign of hearing him, his sobs growing frantic. "Nico," he said, a bit louder, but Nico let out a panicked scream, his hands covering his ears and his eyes squeezing shut.

"No, no, no, no, oh gods please no!" Nico was chanting like a mantra. Jason sighed. He couldn't help Nico if he didn't listen to him. He gently gripped Nico's hands in his and pulled them away from his ears, holding tighter as Nico struggled. He paused then. What should he say? His mind drifted back to the first time he had walked in on Piper having a panic attack. In alarm at seeing her upset, he had told her to calm down. It didn't go well. She had just gotten more freaked out. Jason slightly loosened his hold on Nico's hands, not enough so he could pull them away, but enough to make him more comfortable. He settled own next to him, and started talking.

"The entrance to camp Jupiter is under a green hill," He began, keeping his voice soft and level. "Legionnaires take turn guarding it, but the mortals can't see it because of the mist." Jason knew that Nico had been to Camp Jupiter before, but it was the only thing he could think of to talk about, and he thought that the familiarity might calm Nico.

Jason continued to speak, describing little details like how the wind rustles the grass, and how the domes of New Rome caught fire in the setting sun. After about twenty minutes, the son of Hades started to calm down, his breaths coming slower and deeper, his struggles finally ceasing. "Nico?" Jason asked softly, checking to see if he was okay. He didn't react, his eyes still closed and his breathing taking a deep and steady rhythm as the hand that had been fisted in Jason's shirt relaxed its hold. Jason realized he was asleep.

He smiled and pulled away from Nico, laying him on the bed gently and slipping out of the room where Percy and Will were waiting for him. Their looks of fear and concern melted into relief when they saw the small smile on Jason's face. "How is he?" Percy asked hurriedly.

"He's okay," Jason assured him, "He's sleeping." Will looked at him questioningly.

"How did you calm him so fast? He is usually inconsolable when he gets into a certain headspace; all that can be done is wait it out."

"I just…talked to him." Percy shook his head.

"How did you know to do that bro?" Jason bit his lip. Piper got really embarrassed about her panic attacks, and she probably wouldn't want Percy to know about them.

"I just sort of guessed."

 **Nico's POV**

Nico woke with a start, a small scream falling from his lips before he quieted himself. Will doesn't need to lose any more sleep because of Nico's nightmares. He sat up, wiping his face on his sleeves, but the tears stubbornly kept falling. "Damn," he muttered, scrubbing at his eyes. The ship creaked loudly and he jumped, gasping, his black eyes flashing dangerously before he choked out a sob and laid back, trying to relax. He took deep, shacking breaths, occasionally hitching with short sobs.

The darkness pressed in on him, making any hope of sleep impossible. Every creak of the ship was a footstep, every shadow held an enemy, waiting to hurt him, and every object was a knife, a hand, or a whip. He whimpered, sitting up and tucking his knees up to his chest, hugging the bear Will had given him. He couldn't decide whether to close his eyes and wait to be killed or keep his eyes open so he could see his attacker, even though he knew they weren't there. Still the fear coursed through him, making him tremble and sob quietly.

Then he heard a beautiful sound; the gentle strumming of a ukulele. A voice started singing softly, and tears came to Nico's eyes. He could picture his boyfriend now, the softness of his lips when he sang and the way the rough callouses on his fingers made the strings of his ukulele make the most perfect sounds and the campfire shone on his perfect skin and highlighted his perfect smile and gorgeous blue eyes as he sang. " _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."_

All of the fear and panic melted away as the voice filled his ears and tears of happiness fell from his eyes. He pushed his knees away and looked at the bear. A long string of light floated out of the little sewn sun on its chest as the song continued, drifting to the edges of the room and swirling around Nico. He reached out and touched one strand, smiling as it wrapped around his finger and warmth enveloped his body. The light faded as the song ended and he laid down, burying his face in the bear's stomach, taking in its scent. Will always smelled like a strange but beautiful mix of hot and sweet strawberries and campfire smoke. Nico often wondered how he, someone so damn broken, deserved someone so perfect.


	10. Chapter 10

Nico climbed the rope ladder into the crow's nest, ignoring the twinges of pain from his scarred back and hands. The watchman smiled as Nico sat down next to him with his legs hanging off the side, taking a swig from a flask of rum offered to him before handing it back. He had continued to drink after Jack introduced him to rum, not excessively, but enough to have a constant buzz going. He knew Will would kill him when he found out, but he didn't give a dam. It made him feel good, and that's all that really mattered.

Nico rested his chin on the railing, staring out at the ocean through his good eye. That was when he noticed a glint of gold on the horizon. His head shot up and he squinted, trying to make out what he was seeing.

"Can I use your telescope?" Cotton handed him the device without complaint (though he was mute, so he couldn't complain much anyways) and Nico peered through. When he focused the lens, the shape took form as a bronze ship. A wide grin broke out on his face and he grabbed a rope hanging nearby, swinging over the side of the crow's nest and sliding down, landing easily behind Will. "They're coming," he laughed freely. "I saw their ship. You're going to love it!"

Nico let himself fall backwards into a wall, sliding down it to sit. "I can't believe it," he murmured, tilting his head back and resting against the wall. "They should be here sometime today." Cotton's parrot swooped down from the crow's nest and snatched the telescope from Nico's hands.

Nico was eager for the Argo II's arrival. He couldn't wait to see his friends again, especially Will. He didn't know what happened on the quest he was on; he must have accidently shadow traveled onto the ship, and maybe hit his head, because he didn't really remember his first few days on the ship. He had taken to it well though. He loved the sea. The rock of the ocean was like a lullaby, and the salty wind blowing through his hair was a drug, invigorating him. He even considered staying on Captain Sparrow's crew permanently. It would be better than the constant worries of the life of a demigod, and maybe he could even convince his boyfriend to join him.

"Nico…" Will's voice broke into his revelry. "You really need to be more careful. You're still recovering." Nico rolled his eye. For whatever reason, Will was always so careful around him, like he was made of glass. Nico didn't understand it.

He stood quickly. "I'm going to try to make myself look presentable." He slipped down the ladder and made his way easily into the room that used to sleep Jack Sparrow. He had gotten much more comfortable with living with pirates in the time he had been on board. He knew his way around the ship, had adopted their style of dress (Will had found him some clothes that were only a little big on him), and he had even taken on a more relaxed form of speech, putting much less effort into enunciating words.

There was a dirty mirror on one wall of the room, and Nico stood in front of it, examining himself with a cautious eye. A loose, cotton shirt hung off of his frame, ruffled in the wind. His black trousers were tucked into leather boots, with his Stygian iron sword hanging off his hip. His eyepatch was ragged, as it was borrowed from Ragetti. Nico admittedly looked good in the clothing department; too skinny for them to fit right, but his ass did look amazing in those pants.

He leaned down to look at his face, running his fingers over the bumpy scars under his eyes and leaving tracks in the dirt, sighing. He had absolutely no idea where those scars had come from, nor did he know what had happened to his eye. Yet another unsolved mystery.

Nico was becoming increasingly frustrated. Nothing anyone said made sense to him. Will always gave him these pitying looks, and Elizabeth coddled him, hugging and shushing him when he had nightmares. That was another thing. He had nightmares almost every night. They were not like the controlled setting of his usual dreams, nor even flashbacks from Tartarus, they were just vague flashes of images, things that made no sense like tentacles and a man with a shell on his head and a blood covered whip. And then there was the bear. Nico didn't remember getting it, but he knew instinctually that it was from Will (the sun sewed onto it was also a little hint). He suspected that something bad had happened to him, but the memories were _just_ out of reach.

He spent the next few hours in the crow's nest whenever he could be, watching the Argo II's approach. Every now and then Gibbs would begrudgingly climb up and ask him to do odd jobs that required someone small, like climbing through some ropes to tie something off. He finished all of them as quickly as possible so he could get back to watching.

Nico felt…weird to say the least. The closer the Argo II came, the more jittery he was. He was of course excited to see Will and the others, but there was something else too, something lurking on the edges of his consciousness to the point where he was trembling. He drank more rum to steal his nerves, but that just made it worse. It got to the point where Ragetti, who was on watch around the fourth hour, made him go down to the deck in case he fell. Will, of course, caught on at this point, and took Nico's canteen and replaced the rum with water. About an hour ago he had left to give Jack a serious talking to.

Now the crew was running around, shouting things Nico didn't understand. He assumed they were trying to make the Black Pearl _not_ run into the Argo II. People ignored him mostly in all of the fuss, but Nico didn't mind. Everyone was usually fussing over him constantly, and he was glad for the chance to just be by himself for a bit.

As the Argo II approached, Nico tried to guess who all of the shapes on the deck were. Frank was easy to spot, and Nico had a sneaking suspicion that the one flying into the rigging was Jason, but the others were a bit harder to discern. He'd imagined he would have this magical moment where he would look up and somehow just _know_ which one was Will, but he honestly had no clue. It somehow only made the knot in his stomach worse.

Nico wanted to help with lowering the ramps when the time came, but he was really freaking jumpy, and anyways, no one let him help with physically laborious tasks on account of his "condition", whatever the hell that meant. So he was left to pace like a nervous bride on her wedding day. Ugh. The comparison made him sick. He in all honesty was on the complete opposite side of the ship. He was just too nervous. He felt lightheaded. It didn't make any sense, he should be happy, but it was just too…overwhelming.

"Nico?" He turned at Elizabeth's voice.

"Oh. H-hey Elizabeth." Nico cursed the shakiness in his voice. Elizabeth stepped towards him and took his hands in hers. He resisted the urge to pull away.

"Shouldn't you be on the port deck? It is your ship after all. I would've thought you would want to be there to greet them."

Nico turned away from her and put his hands on the railing, looking off into the distance and imagining forever, an empty horizon, and just drifting off into infinity. After a couple of minutes of silence, Nico spoke.

"I just…It makes no sense, b-but I'm scared." Nico averted his eyes from Elizabeth's imploring ones. "It's ridiculous, I know. But I'm afraid of what Will will say when he sees me. M-my Will I mean. I really don't know why, but—" Nico choked out a sob. "Oh gods…"

Elizabeth rushed to him and pulled him close. "Oh little one, I'm so sorry." Nico grit his teeth, but didn't push her away. He was so, so ashamed; why was he so weak? He knew from experience that pushing people away would only make things worse though, so he allowed himself to be comforted by the older woman. She stroked his hair in the way that she always did, tucking his head under her chin as Nico struggled to breathe through his tears. Elizabeth began murmuring to him softly.

"Nico, I'm so proud of you darling. You've healed so much since you got here. You've come so far." Elizabeth pulled him back at arm's length. "Don't throw it all away now. From what I know about these people, especially your Will, is that they love you, and that they would never hurt you." She smiled down at Nico, and he immediately felt calmer. He was sure Elizabeth had some charm speak in her. "Now come on. Your crew is boarding."

Nico trailed behind Elizabeth, butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. As soon as he turned around he and Will locked eyes, and the world tunneled. Nico froze. He couldn't. He just couldn't. The next thing Nico knew he was in Will's arms.

"I love you so much Angel."

"I love you too. I love you too."

They kissed, and the world was right again. This was where Nico belonged, in Will's arms, and Will belonged in Nico's. Their lips were puzzle pieces, and the only match was each other's.

The two of them slid to the floor. Nico finally pulled back, and was shocked to see tears on his face. Nico frowned and kissed them away.

"What's wrong? We're together now," Nico murmured, nuzzling into his neck. Will out a shaky sob, and pulled Nico back to look him in the eyes.

"I am so sorry baby." Will's voice broke. "I should never have let you go alone. I should have—"

"Will…hey, I'm okay, see? I'm fine." Will looked at him in disbelief. "I mean, there's my eye, but I'm sure it can be fixed."

"You…you're okay?" Nico smiled.

"Yeah, Solace. I'm okay." Eventually they separated, mourning every second they spent not touching. However, Hazel immediately took Will's place. Nico grinned into his little sister's hair.

"I missed you Hazel." Nico said softly, but she was having none of it.

"Don't you ever," She sobbed, "EVER leave me again. Do you hear me?! EVER!"

"Yes ma'am." Nico muttered sarcastically. Hazel punched him in the stomach, and then kissed him all over his face. Nico laughed softly, kissed her cheek, and then stood up to face the rest of the crew.

Piper had tears in her eyes. Annabeth did too, but she was smiling through them. Leo was shaking his head and grinning. Percy and Jason looked concerned, and Frank didn't seem to know what to do with himself.

Hazel and Will were holding his hands. Nico felt overwhelmed. He suddenly felt tears running down his cheeks. Immediately Will (Turner), who had been watching everything like a hawk, started shooing everyone away, but Nico held up his hand.

"No Will, it's okay. I don't need to be babied." Nico turned his head away. "Not like you usually do," He muttered.

The demigods had apparently already been introduced to the crew, and Elizabeth decided that they should have a tour of the ship. They were led around the deck, and into Jack/Nico's cabin, then down into the hold, where Elizabeth showed them the cannons, the crew's cabins, and the inner workings of the ship. Leo was loudly unimpressed, making constant wisecracks at the lack of technological advancement, much to Nico's annoyance (he had come to love the Pearl, and think of her as _his_ ship) , but Percy and Annabeth were both equally fascinated, Percy loving the ocean-ness of it and Annabeth obsessing over the "authentic historical design". Nico smirked. He didn't know _what_ the deal was with this ship, but he was fairly certain that it wasn't a reinaction.

As for he and Will, Nico ran around showing him all of his favorite spots. Both of them were red faced from laughter as they exchanged stories of everything they had missed in each other's lives. Eventually they climbed their way into the crow's nest. Will would freak out every time Nico slipped, but Nico would just laugh at him and keep going. They climbed into the glorified wooden bucket, and collapsed into each other's arms, panting.

"I missed you," Nico said, leaning back against Will's chest and relishing in the safe feeling it gave him when his strong arms wrapped around him.

"I missed you too," Will murmured into the side of his neck. Nico leaned his head onto Will's shoulder and smiled as he kissed his neck gently. "I missed kissing you and holding you and talking to you. I missed seeing you smile." He craned his neck over and gave him a small peck on the lips. "I'm never letting you go anywhere without me again, okay?"

"Mmmm," Nico agreed, too caught up in the felling of contentment to really care what his boyfriend was saying. As long as he would keep doing this, Nico would agree to anything. But Will needed to know what had happened; that he didn't remember anything. He had done a good job of concealing the fact, but Will was sure to find out soon enough, and they had made an agreement not to hide things from each other after Nico had "forgotten" to tell him about the fact that he got the Hypnos cabin to make him a potion to keep him from sleeping so he wouldn't have nightmares. No, he wasn't going to keep this in the dark. It would only cause problems later when Will figured it out.

"You're doing a lot better than I thought you would be. I thought… After what happened-"

"Will," Nico interrupted, wiggling out of his arms and turning to face him. "I need to tell you something."

"You can tell me anything. I'm here for you babe." The readiness and almost eagerness Will listened to him with almost brought tears to his eyes. How did he deserve someone so amazing?

"I-um… I don't really know how to tell you this…"

"Take your time." He was sweet, but he was taking the supportive boyfriend thing a little too seriously.

"I guess I'll just go for it so um…" He took a deep breath. "I don't remember anything that happened to me in the last two weeks."

Will's eyebrows furrowed in the adorable way they did when he was confused. "What?" It looked like he was going to say more but Nico's eyes were trained on the sea, where a ragged ship was quickly approaching them. He stood quickly and leaned over the side of the crow's nest.

"Will!" he shouted.

Will Turner looked up at him from below, where he had been in an extremely confusing conversation about blacksmithing with Leo. "What is it?" he called back.

"There's another ship coming right for us!"

Will ran to the side of the ship and peered out to sea. Even from high up, Nico could see him go white as a sheet. "Ready the cannons! It's the Dutchman!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Will!" Will (T) shouted up at the blond boy, "Get Nico below deck!" Will (S) nodded in affirmation, grabbing his boyfriend's hand and pulling him towards the edge of the crow's nest, but Nico pulled away, shaking his head.

"What's going on? I don't understand. If we need to fight, I can fight; I'm not weak!" Will groaned. Did the son of Hades have to be stubborn _now_?

"Sweetheart, now is really not the time. Now come on." But Nico held his ground adamantly.

"No Will! I am sick and tired of being treated like a baby!" His voice broke. "I don't know what happened to me, but I'm not broken!" Then, quieter. "I'm _not."_ Will sighed, and took Nico's hands, but Nico just pulled away from him angrily. Apollo's child glanced over the shining waters. The other ship was approaching impossibly fast, and Will knew from the sailors' urgency as they rushed around the deck that it was not friendly.

"I'm really sorry about this Nico." Will scooped the skinny boy up bridal style and swung down onto the deck, clinging to a rope as his boyfriend kicked at his chest, and mentally reminding himself to thank Chiron to force him to do the climbing wall so often. He landed with a jar to his legs, but did not break his pace as he darted into Nico's room beneath the stern deck.

He deposited Nico on his bed in his cabin and ran to close the door, locking it from the outside and wincing when he heard Nico banging on the door and screaming his name. "Sorry Nico," Will called through the door. "I'll be back soon. I promise."

He sprinted back onto the deck. A cannonball whizzed by his ear and landed in the water behind him. The Pearl fired her cannons in response, some flying over the Dutchman, and some punching holes in her hull. Rain was pouring down in sheets onto them, thunder cracking the sky in half, probably thanks to Jason, who was flying above the battle, hitting people with bolts of lightning. The sea had turned dark and rough, crashing against the side of the ship, making Will stumble and almost slip on the wet deck. A gangplank was stretched between the Dutchman and the Pearl, and melee skirmishes were raging across both ships. Frank manned the crossbow on the Argo II, with Leo at the helm, struggling to activate the ballista and control the ship at the same time. Festus was blowing columns of flame, setting off fires on either of the other ships, lighting up the sky, and generally causing mass confusion.

One thing was for sure. The Dutchman was going down.

There was only one problem. None of the fish people would die. Will saw Annabeth stab one of the creatures through the chest, yet he just tossed aside the knife and turned it against her. And there were so many of them. For every one of the demigods and Jack Sparrow's crewmen, there were a least two of the sea creatures, if not more. They were quickly being overwhelmed.

Will was no fighter, but these people had hurt Nico, and he wasn't going to let the other demigods have all the fun. It was so counter-intuitive to him as a doctor, but he wanted to make these things suffer like Nico had. Will grabbed hold of a rope as it passed him and swung out over the sliver of ocean between the two rival ships, stumbling and slipping on the aft deck before he found his footing and unslung his bow from his back.

For the first time in his life, despite having fought in two wars, Will felt bloodlust coursing through him as he spun and punched and loosed arrows. His bow was a part of him, and extension from his arm. He knew that no amount of blood would reverse what these monsters had done to his Nico, but it sure as hell made him feel better.

Then, Nico was on the deck.

Time seemed to stop between the two of them. He must have shadow traveled there. Nico's eyes were wide as he surveyed his surroundings, taking in the battle and the beasts fighting it. Will held his breath. It was a blessing that Nico had lost his memory, but if he regained it now, Will didn't even want to imagine what it would do to him.

Unfortunately, he didn't have to.

Nico suddenly let out a heartrending shriek and crumpled to the ground. Will caught Nico as he collapsed and drew him close, dragging him behind a crate and the danger of the battle raging on the deck. He looked down at the boy in his arms. Nico was trembling, and his eyes were just gazing off at nothing. The child of Apollo quickly recognized this as shock.

"Nico," Will murmured, softly but firmly to his boyfriend, shaking his shoulder. "Look at me sweetheart." Nico weakly tilted his head up towards the older boy, but his eyes still did not seem to lock onto him. Will saw that his boyfriend was mouthing something frantically, over and over again. Will leaned in closer. "What is it Angel?" He asked softly. Then, he caught it.

"I remember." The he croaked, and a pang shot through Will. He looked into Nico's wide brown eyes and could see the absolute agony flooding them. He was still saying it over and over again like a mantra: I remember, I remember…

"Oh Nico…" Will held his boyfriend as tightly as he dared, kissing his face and shushing him, but Nico could not be soothed; he began whimpering the words desperately, searching Will's eyes beseechingly as though to say "please make it better", but all that the blond could do was hold him and shield him from the carnage raging around him. Nico was sobbing now, "I remember, I remember", growing more and more hysterical. Will couldn't make it better, he wished with all of his heart and soul that he could do something, _anything,_ as Nico grew incoherent and started hyperventilating. Will began to shed tears of his own. Nico seemed to grow exhausted, and his voice grew hoarse and weak, and then he was just croaking, "I remember", in this tiny little keen that burned all remaining ashes of his heart.

Then, something shifted.

"I remember." Nico muttered darkly, spitting the words as though they were poison. Will drew back and looked down at Nico's face, which was twisted into a snarl.

"Nico?" Now it was Will's turn to whimper as Nico pulled away from him and stumbled to his feet.

"I remember." Nico said loudly, walking towards the rioting crowd. The world seemed to tunnel around him, and Will leapt to his feet.

"Nico!" Will shouted, but Nico didn't react; he didn't even turn.

"I remember!" He uttered, firmly and clearly. Time seemed to slow around him, the air turning impossibly cold, shadows dancing around his feet like some twisted pets. Jason and Percy seemed to lose control of their elements as the black clouds above rained down shadows and the sea became a churning pit of pure darkness. Wind, tainted with gray, swirled around him, rustling his raven hair. His face was pale, ancient, beautiful, like some forgotten god older than Eos and more powerful than Zeus. Jack's crewman and Davy Jones' alike started turning towards Nico, lowering their weapons, until every eye was upon him. Hazel wrenched herself out of the grasp of a barnacle encrusted man and dashed to Nico, grabbing at his arm.

"Nico, what—" Her hand went straight through him but Will got the sense that Nico wasn't weak, but untouchable. Nico took several steps forward.

"I Remember!" Nico shouted at the top of his lungs with an anger that was almost carnal. The shadows whipped around him like the raging ocean below. A tremor seemed to go through the crowd, and a man, a beast, emerged from its depths.

"Well if it isn't my favorite little whore." Davy Jones walked into the darkness and circled Nico and Will rushed towards him, but Hazel held him back, shaking her head. Will clenched his fist, but stayed. He saw a shiver wrack Nico's form, but the Son of Hades stood firm, glaring daggers at the Captain.

"I remember." Nico growled. Davy Jones stepped back, startled at the boy's tone.

"What was that? I didn't hear." Nico suddenly swung his fist back and slammed it into the creature's face.

"I FUCKING REMEMBER YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Captain Davy Jones roared and stabbed his sword at Nico, but the boy threw up his hand, and Shadow engulfed the sailor. All at once, everything stopped. The clouds faded and the sky turned blue, the wind and sea calmed. Davy Jones was gone. One by one, the crew of the Flying Dutchman dropped their weapons, staring at Nico, who was just standing there at the center of the deck, his chest heaving.

Will cautiously approached his boyfriend. He put his hand on his shoulder. That promise of support was all that it took for the son of Hades to fall asleep, and Will was right there to catch him.


	12. Last Chapter!

**Hazel's POV**

Hazel wanted to never leave Nico's side again. This past two weeks has been the closest to hell she could imagine. Hazel had always needed to take care of things. She took care of her mother when she would forget to eat, she took care of Sammy during those little moments when his cool façade would crack, she took care of Frank during his bouts of self-hatred, and she was _supposed_ to take care of Nico. After Tartarus she had promised herself that she wouldn't let her big brother get hurt again. She did the same after the issue with the shadow traveling, and she may have told Will about all of Nico's issues when she noticed the two of them getting closer. And she failed again.

He had gotten hurt in the worst way possible way and Hazel wasn't there to protect him. Frank tried to get her to leave Nico's bedside on the Argo II. Hell no.

 **Percy's POV**

No matter how hard he tried, Percy couldn't remember ten year old Nico. He tried as hard as he could, but every time he tried to imagine the son of Hades, all he could see were shattered, empty eyes and pale, scarred skin. He was supposed to be the strong hero the kid looked up to. He was supposed to be mythomagic brought to life. Mythomagic must be a cruel game.

Percy avoided the med-bay at all costs. He couldn't face him.

 **Jason's POV**

Jason didn't sleep at night. How could _he_ sleep at night when Will and Hazel wouldn't even blink?

Maybe he had isolated himself. What was the harm in that? It wasn't like there was anything he could do, anyways. If he left his cabin, it would just be a reminder to everyone that the great Jason Grace had failed. Piper hated him now. She was disappointed in him. And of course he deserved it, he deserved her yelling and her glares and her 'I can't believe you' looks. It still hurt, but who was he to say he hurt when Nico…

Jason went back to throwing the rubber ball against the wall.

 **Leo's POV**

He fixed the leaky piston, patched up the hole in the deck, repaired the wonky air conditioning, and even polished every single metal thing on the ship, including the silverware. Then, he took inventory. Of his tool-belt. His bottomless tool-belt. There was some weird shit in there. Leo could fix anything, but when he looked at Nico, he felt totally lost. He thought he had it bad before, but that was nothing.

 **Piper's POV**

Of the seven, Piper was the social one. She was good at talking to people and knowing how they worked, how to pick up cues. And now she was picking up tons of cues. Everyone was shaken up by what was happening. Jason hadn't even left his cabin, which made her incredibly angry. He was supposed to be a leader and help everyone through this, but instead he was being a coward. So Piper made it her job to take care of everyone that needed it, especially Will and Hazel, who were taking it harder than the others.

Piper knew that eventually she would have to face her own emotions about the situation, but right now, everyone else needed her to be strong and consistent the one steady force on an unpredictable ocean.

 **Frank's POV**

Frank could not remember what it was that had once made him afraid of Nico DiAngelo. Sure the guy wore black a lot, and liked standing in shadows, and wasn't so great at talking to people, but now, watching him stare numbly at Will as he received his daily vital-reading examination thingy, Frank would've done anything to get that smoldering fire back into his eyes.

He couldn't do anything about it though. Why would Nico open up to him of all people? For now, he sat next to Hazel and held her hand, getting food into her as often as possible.

 **Annabeth's POV**

 ** _Psychological trauma_** _is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severe distressing event._ Not helpful Wikipedia. Annabeth already fucking knew that.

...

"Hey Percy, can I talk to you?" Percy turned from his place by the railing to find Will Solace staring at him. He looked exhausted. His hair was messy and there were deep bags under his eyes. Percy was surprised to see Will outside of the med-bay at all. "Annabeth made me leave the infirmary and exercise," he said, as if reading his thoughts.

"Yeah. Of course, man." Honestly, Percy was surprised Will was talking to him of all people. If he needed to talk, he expected Will would go to Piper. She had kind of become the ship's therapist. He himself had never really talked to her, not seriously anyways, but he had heard she was a good listener.

"Well, I was thinking…when we get back to New York, I don't know if Camp Halfblood is the best place for Nico." Percy furrowed his eyebrows. How could Camp _not_ be the right place for Nico? People there were so supportive, and it was completely sanctioned off from the outside world.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not that I don't love camp, but it just might be a little too hectic. He's barely used to even me and Hazel now, can you imagine him having to interact with Conner and Travis?" Percy snorted at the image. "And besides, Nico needs to have a lot more attention than camp could offer. He—" Will sharply inhaled. "—he's just so…broken, and _I_ don't even know how to help him. He needs to be surrounded with people who genuinely care about him, and who aren't too busy with two-hundred other kids."

"What did you have in mind?" Will bit at his lip.

"I was wondering if it would be okay if NicoandIcrashedatyourplaceforawhile. If your Mom's okay with it I mean, it would just be for a couple of weeks until I save up some money, and I'll get a job and pay rent, and we can help out around the house, and—"

"Will." The other teen finally looked up from his shoes. His eyes were wide, and he was sweatier than Frank running a five k. "Of course you can stay with us. I'll ask my mom about it once we get back into New York." A sudden wave of tan skin and sweatiness, and Percy was squished against Will's admittedly muscular chest.

"Thank you so much, Percy."

"No problem. I'll do anything if it helps him."

…

Three teens were sitting awkwardly in front of her, nibbling on blue chocolate chip cookies. They were actually leftovers, but when she saw the boys in her doorway looking so desperate, she had to let them think that they were fresh, so she had popped them in the microwave.

"Mom, you remember Nico, right?" Sally did remember Nico. She remembered a little boy with bright eyes who looked up to her son like a big brother. She remembered the kid with blue icing all over his face slaying her at monopoly. She remembered the child who smiled shyly when he was invited to stay and said that he hadn't been to a birthday party in a really long time. This was not Nico.

The child sitting on her couch and clinging to Will Solace peeked up at her with one wide, vacant eye. The other was covered by a pristine white bandage wrapped securely around his head. His black t-shirt hung off of his shoulders like a dress, almost as if it was trying to swallow him whole. He didn't seem to be physically injured besides the eye, but something seemed…off.

"Yes, of course I do" is what she ended up saying. She didn't ask him how he was. Frankly, the answer was obvious.

"I was wondering if he and Will could stay with us for a while." Was he really asking her this in front of the two boys in question? Sally knew she had taught him better than that.

"Percy, let's go talk about this in the kitchen." He hesitated, but nodded, rising off of the couch. As they left, Percy gave Will and Nico a reassuring smile over his shoulder. Will smiled back at him, but Nico just hid his face in his (were they boyfriends?) boyfriend's shoulder. When the door was securely shut, Sally turned to her son. "What happened to that boy?" He bit his lip and shifted the weight on his feet, running an unconscious hand through his already messy hair. He couldn't hide anything from her.

"Mom, he was tortured. Bad." He still wasn't saying something. He would let it out soon enough though. "They…they r-raped him, Mom. They had him for days, and-" He suddenly choked, and Sally quickly pulled him into a hug, his head molding into her shoulder. Gods, knowing Percy he probably hadn't cried about this yet. Damn it, boy.

"I'll go get the guest room ready for them. I hope they don't mind sharing a bed." Her son jumped, eyes wide as he pulled back.

"R-really?!" She nodded, forcing herself to smile.

"Of course. As long as they need to. Now go tell them!" Percy threw his arms around her neck again, suddenly laughing.

"Thank you so much! I promise, you won't regret this. They're great kids. Thank you!" The author chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"You're welcome." Her son bounded off into the kitchen, and guessing from the crashing sound, broke her lamp in his hurry to hug his friends.

"She said you can stay! Oh man, this'll be great! You can go to Paul's school, and we can watch movies together, and ooh! You have to try Mom's seven layer dip, and—"

Sally changed the dusty sheets on the bed, methodically folding and refolding. She was understandably distraught, but in that moment, she knew that she had gained two sons.

 **The End.**

 **Hi people, it's Dragon, creator and mastermind of this fic! (This is Crazy, and I humbly disagree.)This was the last chapter in this fic, but that doesn't mean it has to be over. We are working on the sequel right now. It's going to be more of a series of one-shots about Nico's recovery than an actual storyline, so a lot of it will come from requests and stuff (please give requests it helps my writer's block). Be sure to follow me if you have an account so you don't miss that. Also fun fact: this fic is now officially more than a year old! So happy birthday. We thank all of you for reading!**

 **From Crazy: About requests. The sequel to this fic will be a series of one-shots, but Dragon and I do have some plot guidelines, just for consistency's sake. After the events of Lost at Sea, Will and Nico live with Sally, Percy, and Paul for around a year. Sally lets them share a room because of Nico's nightmares. After about a month or so, when Nico is comfortable enough to be without Will, Will goes to Paul's high school. Annabeth tutors Nico for a couple of months until he is caught up enough to enroll as a freshman. Most of the teachers are very nice and accommodating to him, except for one, Mrs. Brunk. Nico and Will are also bullied by a homophobe named Bradley, but Paul quickly catches on, and after getting suspended, he doesn't do it again. Lastly, after they graduate, Will and Nico would go and work on a Disney Cruise, but we aren't likely to write that in this fic because it is supposed to focus on Nico's rehabilitation into the mortal world. Ok that's it, thanks for reading!**

 **Sally and Nico bonding**


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